Mille Cochin Info

[JosieChick]

Yeah!! Glad some experts got on here to confirm for you! Good luck on your calico cochin adventure!

 

[wholewheatchicken]

I am new to MF cochins as I bought Amy's Belvedere breeding pair and two trios from Lynn at her last sale. Is it okay for a newbie to jump in with questions on how to breed for type and pattern or would this be the wrong thread? I am wanting to know if I need mottled cochins in with the MFs?
Amy, I just finished my hatch with the eggs I bought from you before Belvedere came to live with us. The only chick I got is Belvedere's baby! It's a sweetheart, though, and loves to cuddle in my hand.
Lynne, the babies are settled in. The darker of the two boys is very curious and bold. He's so interested in everything that is going on around here. I love his inquisitive personality.
If I am in the wrong spot, would someone point me to the thread I should be on?
Thank you!

 

[NancyWicker]

I'd say you're in the right spot! Welcome and good luck! I love Belvedere, he's gorgeous

I'm new to mille fleur Cochins too, right now I just have a pair I bought from Amy and eggs in the bator. I think, though, mottleds were used to add type, and wouldn't hurt with pattern. My Inky is Mottled/MF and a pretty, typey girl.
I would say with your birds you have a nice solid base to start with
I'm sure others more qualified will chime in!

 

[ShysCreations]

wholewheatchicken --It depends upon what you wish to do with your flock. If showing, the mottled will help type though it takes a bit. The first generation F1 from mille x black mottled all appear black mottled. Then breeding F1s back to mille some will appear mottled likely with leakage and some may be mille. Milles aren't of type quality to beat the black, white, pure mottled.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Amy, Amy, Amy...

I went out to take those eggs from Bridgette since they were due to hatch on Saturday and it's 5 days after hatch day... I pick her up and she was very unhappy about it - more than normal. "Oh! I see why!" One chick hatched today! Now, why are they so late? And why did the ones in the incubator hatch on time?

Sorry, I am just now trying to catch up. Too many things going on this spring! LOL

My answer, without having read ahead to see if anyone else answered this, is because you controlled the temps and humidity in the incubator. Chickens do not have hygrometers. They get up and go off to do things and get a bit side tracked or sometimes while sitting in that broody trance an egg gets moved out a bit and cools more than usual or more often than usual. Hence, the slower development.

Two years ago in a really cold winter, it took 4 weeks for my eggs to hatch under Silkie hens that are in an enclosed, insulated shed but not heated. They hatched just fine and grew up just fine.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I am hoping someone with more color genetics will chime in here but I have not heard of anyone crossing with a solid white bird. Not sure what would happen there but I am sure you would lose a lot of the pattern? Good luck with your hatch!!!

I have crossed in white bantam Cochins to the MF project to try and get calicos. Goodness knows it is hard to get very much white on my MF to even work towards calico.

White in bantam Cochins is recessive. It has not helped at all to cross this so I finally stopped using them. I got a lot of black chicks and they grew up MF. Got some great type though! My whites are every bit as typy as my Mottleds!

 

[WestKnollAmy]

I am new to MF cochins as I bought Amy's Belvedere breeding pair and two trios from Lynn at her last sale. Is it okay for a newbie to jump in with questions on how to breed for type and pattern or would this be the wrong thread? I am wanting to know if I need mottled cochins in with the MFs?
Amy, I just finished my hatch with the eggs I bought from you before Belvedere came to live with us. The only chick I got is Belvedere's baby! It's a sweetheart, though, and loves to cuddle in my hand.
Lynne, the babies are settled in. The darker of the two boys is very curious and bold. He's so interested in everything that is going on around here. I love his inquisitive personality.
If I am in the wrong spot, would someone point me to the thread I should be on?
Thank you!

Of course, jump in and ask what you like. There are a lot of helpful people on here, though many may be busy with spring breeding and gathering all those eggs! And gardens, of course.

OMG, I can't believe the only chick was from Belvedere! It could be from a different hen besides the lady that came with him. At one point he had many ladies in his pen.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

Nancy! Love your avatar!

Inky is a fine example of what crossing in Mottled to MF will turn out. She is a nice lady and I hated to part with her but I have enough with that coloring so I was able to help someone else wanting to get started.

 

[WestKnollAmy]

And while on the subject of crossing in whites to MF. Here is a recent photo of a 3rd generation since adding white Cochins to my MF.

 

[NancyWicker]

I know, isn't he a good-lookin roo?

& he almost looks like a 2-headed chicken in that picture

Inky's first eggs went in lockdown this afternoon!